Kharkiv mayor Hennadiy Kernes speaks at the congress of provincial lawmakers and officials in the Ukrainian eastern city of Kharkiv, Saturday, Feb. 22. 2014. Governors, provincial officials and legislators gathered alongside top Russian lawmakers in Kharkiv and approved a statement calling on regional authorities to take full responsibility for constitutional order.

Kharkiv, Ukraine's Mayor Shot in Back, 'Fighting for his Life'

KIEV, Ukraine -- The mayor of an eastern Ukrainian city has been shot and wounded amid separatist unrest, his office says.

The office of Hennady Kernes, the mayor of Ukraine's second-largest city Kharkiv, said Monday he has been wounded with a gunshot to his back. It said he is now undergoing surgery and "doctors are fighting for his life."

Kharkiv is part of the region in eastern Ukraine where pro-Russian gunmen have either seized government buildings or staged protests to demand greater autonomy or outright annexation by Russia.

Kernes first held a pro-Russian stance, but later changed to position himself as largely loyal to the Kiev government.